PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION 2
(objectives)
The course aims to provide students with the basic knowledge about the modern theories of language origins. Starting from the comparison between human language and animal communication, two theoretical proposals will be discussed: on the one hand, the hypothesis according to which human language derives from the communication systems of non-human animals (of the great apes, specifically); on the other, the hypothesis according to which animal communication is not a precursor of human faculty of language.
At the end of the course the student:
- will acquire the basic concepts of the theoretical models of language proposed in the field of evolutionary studies. - Will be able to distinguish the theses advanced by the authors from the arguments used to support such theses, and will be able to provide a correct reconstruction of these arguments
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Code
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20704028 |
Language
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ITA |
Type of certificate
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Profit certificate
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Credits
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6
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Scientific Disciplinary Sector Code
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M-FIL/05
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Contact Hours
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36
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Type of Activity
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Core compulsory activities
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Group: A - L
Teacher
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CHIERA ALESSANDRA
(syllabus)
The course deals with a deep reflection on the main models of language origins and evolution. The specific focus of such reflection is on the debate between continuity and discontinuity models, in which the comparative analysis of animal communication and human language plays a central role. Within the course, the reference to comparative studies includes the investigation of both the cognitive capacities and the expressive means required to realize communication. Overall, the course will be organized into the following contents:
- Key steps in human evolution - Hominid communication: vocal vs. gestural hypothesis on language origins - Discontinuity models of language origins - A model of human communication centered on intentions - Cognition and communication in non-human primates - Communication and conversation
(reference books)
- Ferretti F., Adornetti I. (2012). Dalla comunicazione al linguaggio. Scimmie, ominidi e umani in una prospettiva darwiniana. Mondadori Università, Milano. - Adornetti I. (2016). Il linguaggio: origine ed evoluzione. Carocci, Roma.
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Dates of beginning and end of teaching activities
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From to |
Delivery mode
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Traditional
At a distance
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Attendance
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not mandatory
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Evaluation methods
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Written test
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Group: M - Z
Teacher
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ADORNETTI INES
(syllabus)
Cartesian perspective vs. Darwinian perspective The case of the encultured apes Human evolution. Hominid communication: vocal vs gestural hypothesis. The blast model. Human communication: reading the speaker's intentions. Theory of mind in nonhuman primates. Communication and conversation.
(reference books)
- Ferretti F., Adornetti I., 2012, Dalla comunicazione al linguaggio. Scimmie, ominidi e umani in una prospettiva darwiniana, Mondadori Università, Milano. (da studiare tutto) - Adornetti I., 2016, Il linguaggio: origine ed evoluzione. Carocci, Roma. (da studiare tutto)
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Dates of beginning and end of teaching activities
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From to |
Delivery mode
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Traditional
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Attendance
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not mandatory
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Evaluation methods
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Written test
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